How to Build an Instagram Following

Instagram is a social media site used to share photos and videos. It started primarily as an entertainment site but is now considered an essential online marketing tool.

Savvy business people are using it every day to create a buzz about products and services, manage their online image, and create loyal followers.

If you’re not using it, you could be missing out on a huge potential customer base.

If you’re new to Instagram and want to learn how to build an Instagram following, read on for some useful tips.

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An Introduction to The Hashtag (#)

Instagram, like most social media today, runs on the hashtag. Understanding how to use hashtags is critical to creating a following.

The hashtag (also known to old-schoolers as the pound sign) is the hyperlink of social media. It turns the words following it into a searchable link.

You can use letters and numbers, but no spaces. For example, “# 50 Kardashian Photos” will not be a functioning tag, but “#50KardashianPhotos” will be.

Using capital letters to differentiate words makes tags easy to read and understand. You can use up to 30 hashtags per post.

In addition to being a link, the hashtag is also a keyword. This is why it is so important to use hashtags well. The keywords in your hashtags are a huge factor in zeroing in on your intended audience and finding loyal followers.

For example, to promote a product, you will want to use your company name and type of product along with common business tags like #marketing, #ecommerce, and #brand.

This will help people looking for products like yours to find you and learn about your business.

The real secret, however, is to also use generic tags geared toward your intended audience. To find these, check sites such as Websta, which list popular tags and keywords.

Because these tags are NOT related to your business, they can draw in new customers who find you while doing other searches. This is one of the most powerful ways to build followers.

Here’s an example…

Say you’ve just launched a new line of footwear that you want to market to teenage girls. You upload a photo, tag it with your standard business tags, then add some popular generic tags like #fashion, #awesome, and #beautiful.

Your post will now show up in the feeds of everyone who searches those tags, and many of those people are going to become your followers.

Remember, you can have up to 30 tags per post, so don’t be shy about adding them.

Managing Hashtags

There are a number of online tools designed to help social media marketers manage hashtags. Here are a few of them:-

The better you are at using and managing hashtags, the faster and more successful you’ll be at finding followers.

Tips on Building a Following

Plan Your Strategy:

Consider the online presence you want to convey. Who do you want to reach? How do they use Instagram? What will make them enthusiastic about your product?

Build your profile image and bio around the answers to these questions.

Post Consistently:

To build and keep a following, you should post at least once a day. Make posts interesting, useful and entertaining.

Connect With Similar Accounts:

Use hashtags to search for people in similar niches, and follow them. Not only will you create a network, but you are sure to get followers in return. Research shows that about 1 in 4 people you follow will follow you back.

Use Filters:

Filters allow you to digitally alter your Instagram images. It may seem silly, but filters are one key to being a good Instagrammer.

People pay more attention to high-contrast photos and photos with a warm, golden tones, for example, so using these filters can help grow your following.

Use Videos:

They are sure to increase your popularity – video’s rock on most social media networks these days!

Promote Your Instagram Site on Other Social Media:

Once you’ve got your site up, share your photos and videos on your other platforms!

Using Instagram isn’t difficult, and it can help grow your business in a powerful way. If you use these tips on how to build an Instagram following, you’ll be well on your way to success.

Good luck! 🙂

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12 comments on “How to Build an Instagram Following”

Hello ChrisEvans,
Thanks for sharing the great idea. As a new technology evolve, the online marketing strategy nowadays is getting advance with the high acceleration value of revenue through the sophisticated platform.
Yep. Instagram is one of a good idea to promoting the service and product after the Pinterest and facebook.

Thanks for these tips and tools to build an Instagram following. It’s important to have social media today to stay connected and grow a business. Deciding on which social media channel to use can be difficult. Instagram seems like a good place and your article is very helpful. The video tutorial is great too.

Thanks for your great tips and tools on how to build an Instagram following. It sure does important to use social media to promote our products. The video also very helpful. Do I need to create a new account to promote my products or can I just use my personal account?

Thanks Chris, i feel much better equipped on how to build an effective instagram following after reading this post.
Definitely Instagram is a huge platform, and getting a good following on their can definitely be a part of a successful online business.

I myself didn’t realise the importance of posting everyday to get a better following until i read this.

Great article and great video. I just finished my first website and I’m starting to work on my social media presence and building my followers. This was perfect. Thank you for starting with the basics like hashtags and explaining to us how they are similar to keywords for SEO. Keep it up and thank you for sharing the marketing knowledge.

Instagram is very popular in Kenya especially among youth and luckily my business or rather my blog kampusville targets these group of youngsters. Also most people on Instagram are responsive to new quality products, its been hard trying to get a following in IG but thanks to your advice, this is going to change for the better. But for now, let me start with websta then with time i will advance further. Thanks